Spreadsheet documents may be used for organizing and analyzing large amounts of information. Information in a spreadsheet document may be contained in cells, arranged as rows and columns on one or more sheets. For example, spreadsheets may be used for managing and manipulating financial information, engineering information, or any organizational information.
Electronic spreadsheet applications allow users to conveniently and efficiently organize and manage spreadsheet documents using a relatively simple syntax, without the use of a complex programming language. Limitations of the spreadsheet syntax prevent users from performing some calculations without resorting to complex external resources, such as macros. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus for passing functional spreadsheet data by reference in an electronic spreadsheet application.